A customized flathead motorcycle on the showroom floor

RICK’S PICKS: MAMA TRIED

Words and Images by Rick Spada

Hello world, my name is Rick from Chicken Fried Choppers! If you don't know me, I spend 75% of my free time living and breathing motorcycling and the other 25% taking photos and videos of bikes and the great people in our moto community. In 2023, I traveled across 16 states on a variety of motorcycles, down to Mexico, and through parts of Canada to document a slew of motorcycle events.

In 2023, I had the opportunity to join Harley-Davidson as a freelance event photographer, with my first mission being to capture Born-Free Texas. In 2024, H-D extended another invitation, to come to Milwaukee to document the 10th annual Mama Tried Show. I made my way out to Wisconsin and found myself immersed in the purple and blue hues inside of The Rave/Eagles Club ballroom, a super unique venue perfect for showcasing the most insane bikes.

Aside from documenting The Mama Tried show, I was asked to select my four favorite bikes for H-D. Check them out below!

  • A customized flathead motorcycle on the showroom floor

    TERRY BABER’S POWERED K MODEL

    Let’s kick this party off with Terry Baber’s powered K model was introduced in 1952 and was the original Sportster before they officially took on the name Sportster in 1957. It was an extremely innovative motorcycle for Harley-Davidson at the time, as it was the first to combine the transmission and motor in the same case and the first H-D to have a rear suspension. I raced my 1953 KK this year at Flat Out Friday and these old flatheads have a special place in my heart. Baber Performance built this great example and even used an XR750 factory race frame! 

  • A belt drive on a motorcycle reads "U STOOPID" with hand-painted lettering

    KENDALL LUTCHMAN'S SHOVELHEAD CHOPPER

    My second pick is the hand-painted primary belt on Kendall Lutchman’s Shovelhead chopper. Hearing Kendall say “You Stoopid” is such a common occurrence that when it came time to name his own Milwaukee-based chopper show, there was only one obvious choice. September of 2023 kicked off the first official Stoopid Chopper Show at the Bad Moon Saloon on the south side of the city!

  • Details of a carburetor and panheads on a vintage motorcycle

    JACK WEID’S SU CARBURETOR

    Next we have a picture of Jack Weid’s SU carburetor and 4” velocity stack proudly sticking out from his 1952 survivor Panhead. Jack, along with his father and friends, braved the rain to attend Matt Stout's Moto Loco Race and Show in Ottsville, PA, in 2023. At the event, where I was overseeing the chopper corral, Warren Heir and Scott Johnson from Mama Tried gave us the opportunity to select one bike for an invitation to this year's Mama Tried Show. Since Jack went the distance (literally and figuratively) we chose him to have his machine on display in Milwaukee.

  • Details of a polished bare metal tank with a hand shifter on a vintage flathead motorcycle

    ERIK LUND’S HARLEY-DAVIDSON 45” RACE BIKE

    Last but certainly not least we have Erik Lund’s Harley-Davidson 45” race bike. Erik built this flathead to race at Billy Lane’s Sons of Speed in Daytona, Florida this year. After Mama Tried ended in Milwaukee, Erik packed his bike up and headed straight to New Smyrna Speedway to kick off Daytona Bike Week in style. These old tank shifters always look like a blast to ride and someday I hope to get one out on a track!

I had a great time at the annual Mama Tried Show, and I’ll see you down the road. Keep your eye’s peeled for me, camera in-hand, at any given H-D event!

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